Liquid fuel stove



June 8, 1943. H. F. LIEBER LIQUID FUEL STOVE Filed June 3, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 8, 1943. H. F. LIEBER 2,321,034

LIQUID FUEL STOVE Filed June 3, 1.958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patente d June 8, 1943 s'rrss ()FFICE LIQUID FUEL STOVE ark Stove Company,

tion of Ohio Application June 3, 1938, Serial. No. 211,486

1 Claim.

This invention relates to burners and is concerned more particularly with those employing kerosene, but is adapted to be used with gasoline, benzine and other liquid fuel.

It is an object of the invention to provide a torch feed adapted to atomize liquid fuel to an inflammable state and supply the same to a torch where it is adapted to be ignited.

Another object is to provide a torch feed adapted to swirl air and liquid fuel together to an ignitable mist.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will be understood upon reference to the following description and to accompany two sheets of drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a. fragmentary isometric view, partly in section, of a liquid fuel burner device embodying features of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation partly in sec- 1 tion of a torch and torch feed structure embodying features of the invention.

Fig. 3 is an enlargement showing more clearly details of the mixing chamber portion of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation taken as indicated by the line 4-4 in Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is shown at 28 a tank adapted to contain kerosene, gasoline or other liquid fuel to be used in connection with any suitable cooking burner construction such as that shown fragmentarily in Fig. 1. To the end that the liquid may be forced to flow to the cooking burners, the

tank, having an inlet 29, is only partly filled with th liquid, and air is pumped into the remainder of the tank by any suitable means such as the hand pump 35, a suitable check valve 3| retaining the air in the tank, and an air pressure gage 32 and fuel volume gage 32a being preferably mounted on the tank. The tank preferably has a contents gage. Also mounted on the tank is a main control valve 33 having an air inlet 34 for connection with a tube 35 from the pump for the air supply to the tank, an outlet for connection With a tube 37 to supply a preliminary airliquid starter mixture to be burned, and an outlet 39 for connection with a tube til to supply liquid fuel to be burned.

The range construction comprises a manifold from which a master cooking burner 45, controlled by a. valve 41, and other cooking burners, of which one is shown at 48, controlled by a valve 49, are supplied with gas formed by heating the liquid fuel, as will appear. The main valve 33 is so constructed and operative that after it is opened a stream of combustible gaseous starter mixture of the compressed air and the liquid fuel or a, separate stream of liquid alone may escape from the tank. The tubes 3'! and 40 conduct the gaseous mixture and the liquid respectively to the inlets 5| and 52 of a valve 53 havin only one outlet as shown at 55. The valve has a thermostatic control or valve rod 5'! which is longitudinally extensible by heat. In its contracted position, it closes the raw fuel inlet 52 and, in its extended position, it opens the said inlet 52. The rod 51 is threadedly mounted for lengthwise adjustment. Opening of the thermostatic valve automatically results in stopping the supply of the starter mixture of air and lean fuel, and closing of said thermostatic valve automatically results in commencing flow of the mixture in a manner to be more fully described below. The outlet 55 is connected by a tube 59 to a generator conduit 60 which empties into a venturi 6| equipped with an adjustable air valve 62 and communicating with the manifold 45. The manifold is provided with a series of generator burners 53 for heating the generator 50 and disposedthereunder.

The thermostatic valve rod 51 is supported in place by any suitable means such as the yoke 66 mounted as from the manifold 45. The rod 5! is arranged over a generating burner which for convenience is designated 53a. A valve 61 controls flow of fuel, be it gaseous or liquid, from the valve 53 to the generator 60.

When gasoline or other relatively highly volatile liquid fuel is employed, and when it is desired to use a, burner, such as the master burner 46, for example, assuming the desired air pressure obtains in the tank, the valve 33 is turned to on position, and then the generator valve 6'! is opened. The rod 51, being cold, will allow only the starter mixture, from the tube 31 and outlet 55, to enter the tube 59, and this mixture will issue from the generator burners 63, to which a flame may be applied to light the same. The burner 53a will then proceed to heat the rod 57, as well as assist the other burners 63 in heating the generator St. The rod 51 is so designed as to open the valve 53 to the liquid by the time the generator 68 becomes hot enough to vaporize the liquid into a greatly increased volume of combustible gas. This opening of the valve 53 permits the liquid to flow into the outlet 55, thereby exerting back pressure on the starter mixture. The liquid flows through the tube 59 and into the generator 60, where it is vaporized, and, in the vaporized state, it expands in the venturi 6| and then passes to the manifold and generator burners to continue the burning thereat. When a fuel of high volatility, such as gasoline, is used, the valve of any cooking burner may be opened immediately, and when a fuel of low volatility, such as kerosene, is used, the valve of any cooking burner may be opened a short time, say one minute or so, after the heating is commenced, and a flame applied to the selected burner or burners. It will be observed that there is no discontinuity of supply for the generating burners 63 since the liquid fuel follows immediately after and contiguous to the starter mixture passing into the tube 59.

Any cooking burner may be supplied with the generated vapor when the corresponding cooking burner valve is opened and any cooking burner may be turned on and lighted at will, as long as the valves 33 and 61 are open and the air pressure in the tank is sufficient. A pressure as low as five pounds per square inch will operate one or more cooking burners.

The structure thus far described is adapted to function without additional means when a relatively highly volatile liquid, such as gasoline, benzine or the like is used. However, when a relatively low volatile fuel, such as kerosene, is used, it has been found necessary in, the past to include a gasoline or like starter to provide the initial burning. This has made kerosene wickless stoves quite expensive, inconvenient to operate, and substantially no less hazardous than all-gasoline stoves.

It is an object of the present invention, as has been set forth above, to provide means enabling a stove to operate solely on a nonvolatile fuel such as kerosene, the kerosene being prepared for combustion in a gas burner, such as one employed in gas and gasoline stoves, without the use of any starter fuel other than kerosene. In accordance with the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, the kerosene is brought to the ignition point by means of a blow torch operated by kerosene. The result obtained is practically the same as that for a gas stove, the flame from the torch and from the burners being blue, when properly operated.

The torch mechanism embodying the invention involves a torch feed with which a blow tube is associated. The blow tube may be of any character known to those skilled in the art, but the feed involves salient features of my invention, as will appear.

A torch mechanism constructed in accordance with a preferred form of the invention is shown by the drawings, and comprises a body including a plug I82 which may be threaded as at 183 for securement to an upper part of the tank 28.

The plug I82 has a bore I98 which communicates with the air in the tank over the level of the liquid fuel, as shown in Fig. 2, and, at its outer end, meets a transverse bore I95 in an outlet branch 208 of the plug. A tube 282 is connected to the branch 288 to receive the air passing out of the bore I95 from the tank, and is also connected to a branch 284 of a torch nozzle body member 288. The branch 284 has a bore 281 into which air from the tube 282 discharges, and the bore 281 meets another bore 288 which terminates in an annular recess 2H) in an end face 2!! of the body member 286.

A complemental nozzle body member in the form of a cap 214 is mounted on the recessed portion of the member 296 and has a valve seat 2l5 which is tightly engaged with outer and inner ridges 2H5 and 2H, respectively, bounding the recess 210. The member 286 has a bore 2|8 inwardly of the ridge 2H, and communication between the recess 2|0 and the bore 2! is established by means of a substantially tangential slot 220 in the inner ridge 2 IT.

The plug I82 has another bore 222 counterbored to receive a sleeve 223 having a bore 224 and from which is suspended a tube 225 to the lower end of which a strainer cap 226 is secured. The bore 222 terminates outwardly in a threaded cavity 221 receiving a screw 228. Secured to the screw is a wire or needle 229 which passes through the bores 22'! and 224 and into the tube 225 and, with the bore 224, provides a restricted orifice along which the liquid fuel may flow, for breaking upv gobs of the liquid into relatively fine streams and keeping the orifice clean, The plug I82 has another branch 238 having a bore 23| which meets the bore 222. A tube 232 is connected to the branch 238 of the plug I82 and also to a branch 233 extending from the torch nozzle body member 286. The branch 233 has a. bore 234 which meets a second bore 235 which, like the bore 258, terminates in the recess 2H1.

The cap 2l4 has a central bore 236 defining the inner periphery of the valve seat 2 l5. Movably threaded in the body member 206 is a valve rod 231 provided with an annular ridge 238 adapted to be moved into and out of fluid-tight engagement with the seat 215. The rod 231 carries a wire or needle 239 received in the bore 236 of the cap 2H! for keeping the bore clean and cooperating with the wall of the bore in providing a restricted orifice for the purpose of breaking up any globules or gobs of fluid which might otherwise pass through such bore.

The body member 285 has a sleeve. portion 248 carrying a packing gland at 2'4! and providing a stop shoulder 242 engageable by a pin 243 projecting from the rod 231 so as to limit outward movement of the rod. The rod is actuated by a suitable handle 231a.

The part of the cap 2 l4 facing away from the body member 286 is flared as at 244 fromthe bore 236 to discharge into a blow tube 245. The cap may be attached to the tube 245 in any suitable manner as by means of a collar 246 which threadedly receives the cap and is crimped as at 241 or otherwise suitably secured to the tube, the collar being preferably slotted as at 248 to admit secondary air at the point where the discharge takes place from the cap 214 to the tube 245 and to prevent heat from the blow tube from being conducted to the body member 288. The tube 245 is preferably formed with an arcuate series of holes 249 somewhat beyond the place where the cap 2 I4 is connected to the blow tube and with one or more holes extending longitudinally outward from the arcuate series, and with a hole 25! whose function will be explained presently.

The nozzle body member 286 may have a plug 286 connected to a bracket 252 clamped as at 253 in a manner to support the generator. The yoke 66 also may be supported from said tube.

The operation of the torch mechanism is as follows:

The liquid K, being under substantial air pressure from the air above the level thereof, is forced through the cap 225, up the tube 225 and out of the plug I82 through the bore 23I, through the tube 232, through the bores 234 and 235 in the body member 206 to the annular recess 2 I 0. Likewise, the air under pressure and over the liquid K enters the bore I98 in the plug I82, passes through the tube 292, bores 20'! and 208, into the recess 210. So long as the valve rod 231 is seated against the cap 2M, there is equilibrium, the liquid and air coming together at the recess 2" the slot 220 and the adjacent annular space between the rod and the member 206. When, however, the valve rod 237 is backed away from the valve seat 215, the air and liquid fuel are permitted to escape through the bore 236 in the cap 2| 4 and into the blow tube 245. When the liquid and air are thus freed, they pass along the annular channel 2H! with a swirling motion at a substantial speed due to the pressure urging them along, and thereby come together and form a rough mixture. This mixture passes through the slot 220 and is subjected to additional swirling because of the substantially tangential relation of the slot 228 to the mixing chamber 256, where the breaking up of the liquid into still finer particles is substantially completed, so that the vapor passing therefrom into the tube 245 is ignitible. When a lighted match is applied to the hole at 251, the vapor does in fact ignite and will burn with a blue flame. It will be observed that the size of the flame may be regulated by the adjustment of the valve rod 231.

The tube 245 is arranged at an angle to the generator tube 66 as is clearly evident from Fig. 1 so as to throw its flame along a substantial portion of the length, as well as the width, of

the generator, and thereby have a maximum heating effect upon the kerosene or the like liquid fuel entering the generator due to the opening of the valve 53 when the heat-responsive rod 5'! has been sufficiently heated by the flame from the generator burner 63 Having reference now to the entire disclosure thus far, and bearing in mind the use of a low volatile liquid fuel, such as kerosene, the burner device is placed in operation as follows:

The valve handle I'B'I is first turned to its on position. Then, the starter torch is opened by turning the handle at 23'! suificiently to allow a substantial amount of vapor to enter the tube 245. A lighted match applied to the hole at 25l near the end of the combustion tube will ignite this vapor. The handle 231 is then adjusted un til the flame is blue and of proper length to embrace a substantial portion of the area of the generator 6% The torch is allowed to burn for a short time, say, one and one-half minutes, more or less, and may become red hot. Then, the Valve 41 of the master cooking burner 46 is opened slightly, say about one-eighth of a turn, more or less. Thereupon, the generator valve 61 is opened sufliciently to allow air-liquid starter mixture to enter the generator and a substantial quantity of vapor, produced by the heating of the generator by the torch, to escape from the master burner, and the vapor thus escaping is automatically ignited by the flame from the torch, the proximity of the torch for this purpose being apparent from Fig. 1. The torch is also sufficiently close to the generator burners 63, 63 to ignite the Vapor escaping from the generator burner grids when the generator valve 67 is opened. In a successful installation of the apparatus, it has been found satisfactory to turn the generator valve open two or three turns, but obviously this may be ascertained very promptly by the operator, with any installation. Then, the master burner valve may be opened completely. Thereupon, the starter torch is turned oil.

It will be observed that the tubes 37, 40 and 202 slope upward from the tank to the valve 53 and torch to avoid gumming and clogging by stagnant fuel when the apparatus involving such fuel is not in use.

When the fuel employed is of a relatively highly volatile nature, such as gasoline, the torch is of course not needed. With such fuel the starter mixture is combustible without necessitating preheating so that a lighted match will ignite such mixture escaping from the generator heating burners 63, 63 The heat from such burners opens the valve 53 and heats the generator sufficiently to vaporize to an ignitible gas the liquid freed by the valve 53, as has been explained in detail above.

It is evident from the foregoing that I have provided a novel generator torch which, when included in a liquid fuel stove, enables the stove to be started and regularly operated on the same fuel even when the fuel is relatively nonvolatile at room temperature, such as kerosene, thus doing away with extra pump, tank and other accessories heretofore necessary and avoiding danger inherent in preheating the generator with a highly volatile liquid, such as gasoline.

Various other modifications coming within the spirit of my invention may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and hence I do not wish to be limited to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned except to the extent indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A mechanism of the class described comprising a nozzle having an annular recess and an air inlet and a liquid fuel inlet discharging into said recess, said nozzle having a bore and an annular wall spacing apart said recess and said bore, said wall having a slot substantially tangent to said bore and establishing communication between said recess and said bore, said nozzle having a discharge orifice adjacent said bore, and means movable in said bore for selectively preventing and permitting flow from said slot to said orifice, whereby the air and liquid supplied under pressure to said inlets swirl vigorously in said bore to form a combustible vapor dischargeable through said orifice.

HERMAN F. LIEBER.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.- Patent No. 2,521,05h. June 8, 19m.

- HERMAN F. LIEBER.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as iollowsr Page 2, sec- 0nd column, line 62, for-the word "plug" read "lug-q and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent'Office.

Signed and sealed this 20th day of Jul A. D. 19h;

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

